National Pet Day

April 11 is National Pet Day. Most people keep a pet for companionship, although some are kept to help protect their owners. Usually working animals are not considered pets. In 2013, the number of pets outnumbered the number of children in U. S. households four to one.

No one knows for sure when man began keeping pets. Historians believe that dogs were the first animal to be domesticated and kept in this capacity. All of this happened prior to recorded history, so it's hard to trace.

Of course, the most popular pets are dogs and cats. However people have been known to keep a variety of animals for pets, including rabbits, gerbils, hamsters, ferrets, mice, guinea pigs, birds, reptiles, aquatic creatures, spiders, and hermit crabs. Today there are nearly 80 million dogs kept as pets in the United States and almost 90 million cats. Which pet do you prefer?

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